Five Tips (and a Bonus!) on How to Write a Fantastic About Page

Five Tips (and a Bonus!) on How to Write a Fantastic About Page

via writetodone.com

I always struggle on what to say about myself on the About Me page. Do you? Some interesting tips about what to put there.

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Sign up now for SolidWorks 2010. from SolidWorks Blog: Coming Soon: SolidWorks 2010 Beta Program #Solidworks,

Coming Soon: SolidWorks 2010 Beta Program

Every year we give our customers a chance to preview the newest release of our software before it's made available to the public, and this year is no different.

via blogs.solidworks.com

If you are a SolidWorks user, have you signed up yet? If not, get in on the goodies.

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What the hardest jobs to fill in America? What are you telling your students?

The Hardest Jobs to Fill in America

In today's economic climate, it's hard to believe there are jobs that employers are having a hard time filling. But they do exist, according to the staffing firm Manpower's annual talent shortage survey. From the 2,019 employers who responded to the survey in January, Manpower created this list of the 10 hardest jobs to fill in the U.S.

1. Engineer

There are several reasons it's hard for employers to find qualified engineers, says Jonas Prising, Manpower's president for the Americas. First, employers don't want to hire two or three engineers with a variety of specialties, they want one engineer who is trained in several areas. Another reason is that there are far too few new college graduates in engineering to replace retiring engineers. Also, the Obama administration's pledge to rebuild America's infrastructure is increasing the need for talented engineers.

2. Nurse

There are several causes of this shortage. First, America's aging population requires more caregivers for chronic illnesses affecting older people. Also, advances in medical care require more nurses to assist in treatment. However, there's a shortage of nurse educators, so while demand for professionals is great, there aren't enough teachers to train the next generation fast enough.

3. Technician

These are workers in engineering, technical, operations or maintenance roles who may be classified as either skilled or semi-skilled workers. They often support professionals who have deeper skill bases. Like workers in skilled trades, technicians are trained at vocational schools, and they're in short supply because so many high school students are encouraged to go to four-year colleges instead.

4. Teacher

Many schools find it hard to hire qualified teachers, because becoming a teacher often requires a graduate degree, but salaries remain relatively low. Meanwhile, they need more teachers, with many baby boomers retiring.

5. Sales Representative

Salespeople are in demand during tough economies because they're instrumental in companies' growth. But it takes a long time to become a skilled sales representative, since it involves serious training and becoming an expert in your product and its market. Also, you need a mix of soft skills and technical skills, a tough combination to find.

via finance.yahoo.com

What profession are you encouraging your students to pursue?

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SolidWorks Tips and Tricks, Tutorials, Partner Reviews and Radomosity

Welcome to Jeff's Tool Shed

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While most of what I write will be about SolidWorks, or partner products, from time to time I've been known to go off on random rants about whatever crosses my mind.

Legal B.S.: The thoughts, opinions and commentary posted on Jeff's Tool Shed are mine and mine only. I speak only for myself and no other person(s) or entities. Questions, comments or complaints can be posted in the 'comments' section of each post or you can email me directly. Thanks for reading!

via jeffmirisola.com

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My PLN grows! Interview with CEO and Founder of InspirTech on Solidworks Video Training, #sollidworks

via blog.novedge.com

I visited with Al Whatmough earlier this year about his SolidWorks training videos. His samples are very easy to follow and very informative. It is definitely a resource you should look into if you are interested in SolidWorks use. The DVD has 8 hours of instruction on SolidWorks. Al states "the need for quality training will never go away." I tend to agree with All here but where do we go to get this training? In the past, you were lucky if you have someone in your school you could learn from. In my case, I am the first to begin to use SolidWorks in my school. So where do you find the resources you need to learn: Your Personal Learning Network. Mine started within my campus with @Technolibrary and @Mradkins as they are know on Twitter. They both had a profound influence on me as a teacher as well as a teacher but more importantly on me in terms of professional learning and sharing. But again, where do you find the expertise or mentor you need? Students or our children learn from each other all the time whether it be in person or interactively over some connection they have made. I found Al through a search on Google along with many other resources concerning SolidWorks including blogs, podcasts, videos as well as learning and teaching resources.

Do you have a sage or mentor in your hallway or even your schooL? Do you have access to someone who can teach you? I challenge you to reach out and find the mentor you need. They only as far away as a search on the internet. Twitter, Edubloggercon, Diigo, Google are just a few tools you can use to find your mentor or a group of like minded learners such as yourself. Stick you neck and give it a try.

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100 Best Science Twitterers, Thanks to @Risk101

100 Best Science Twitterers

Posted by Site Administrator in Learning Tools on 06 10th, 2009 | no responses

By Caitlin Smith

Just about everyone is on Twitter these days-celebrities, businesses, and even astronauts. You’ll also find lots of people that work in and support science, and they have lots to share. Check out our list to find 100 of the best scientific people to follow on Twitter.

via onlinecourses.org

Great site for science related Twitters.

Give it a look, lots of interesting links and Tweets.

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Robotics UStreams and blogs from American Society for Engineering and Education Workshop

American Society for Engineering Education K-12 Robotics Workshop

I am attending the ASEE K-12 Robotics workshop for educators in Austin, Texas.  

I will be Liveblogging at this site here and possibly trying to webcast.  

The hashtag for Twitter will be #ASEEK-12 or #ASEERobotics.

via coachnorm.blogspot.com

Find my Liveblogs and UStreams from the American Society for Engineering and Education K-12 Robotics Workshop here.

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Trebuchet

via youtube.com

Funny Trebuchet.

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ASEE Afternoon workshops

See the webcast. http://www.ustream.tv/channel/x%27s-and-o%27s-of-education-with-coach-norm

ASEE K-12 Robotics Workshop

American Society for Engineering Education K-12 Robotics Workshop

I am attending the ASEE K-12 Robotics workshop for educators in Austin, Texas.  

I will be Liveblogging at this site here and possibly trying to webcast.  

The hashtag for Twitter will be #ASEEK-12 or #ASEERobotics.

I am @coachnorm on Twitter.



Following are links to the webcasts of the morning sessions.

Opening Keynote with Xavier Fouger, Dassault Systemes Global Learning & PLM Academy: Click here. 

Solidworks with Marie Blanchard Click Here.

All webcasts for the day are located at:  http://www.ustream.tv/channel/x%27s-and-o%27s-of-education-with-coach-norm

SCIENCE SCOUTS

Increasing the N!

Welcome to our new and improved site! Anyone is welcome to use these badges, although a link to this site (or the specific badge entry) is much appreciated. Even better is if you provide an anecdote in the comments section to explain your reasons for awarding yourself the badge....

Read the rest

via scq.ubc.ca

Science Scout badges for your website.

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Dean Shareski's Big Ideas

I like Dean's Big Ideas he shares with his students.

Social and Connected
Personal and Self-Directed
Shared and Transparent
Rich in Content and Diversity
Ought to be Fun.

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Robot? 21st Century Learning? Yes, you bet. Give it a look. #FIRST, #2468, #LabVIEW, #SolidWorks

via learning20.posterous.com

Great Video and statement from Jim (@jmaklary) about his son watching the Team 624's robot at a demonstration.

Our team, Team 2468 does presentations such as this one at schools as well. It never fails for the team to come home and be so excited about the responses from the little kids and teachers. Just a Jim's son sets and watches so intrigued, the team members are captivated by the enthusiasm and excitement of the little kids.

If you have not investigated FIRST Robotics or any other robotics contest, you should. I firmly believe it is the type of learning and education we need for the future. Project based, learn by doing, work with mentors from the industry and most importantly total engagement. Failures and successes abound in these competitions. Students interact with other teams while at the same time competing with and against them.

I am so glad I was in the right place at the right time when our school began our robotics classes and contest team. It has been a tornado of activities over the past year and a half but the rewards have been huge. Just yesterday, I was working in my classroom and three students contacted me about summer activities.

Scenario one: A freshman student is getting LEGO robotics kits to use at an elementary camp to show them what robotics it and how they work. This is something he is doing on his own as a way of informing and reaching out to other students in our community.

Scenario two was a phone call: "Coach, do you have the LabVIEW disks?" That is the way the conversation started. Stevo wanted to get the LabVIEW disks to install the software at home so he could learn to program with it. No one made him call. No one is going to force him to learn the program It is something he wants to do for the team as well as himself. When is the last time you have a student call you up during the summer to get some educational material so that they could LEARN it on their own.

Scenario three is very similar to scenario two. A student has requested the Solidworks laptop or software for the summer. He came up to get the laptop so he could work thru the online tutorials. He wants to get SolidWorks certified but he knows he will have to work on his own to get there. We are provided with several industry standard software programs in the Robotics contest including SolidWorks, LabVIEW, 3D Studio Max, AutoCad, Windriver C++ and ProE. These software programs are another perk of the robotics contest. The students are exposed to industry standard systems and tools that they might never have the chance to engage in until they are in college.

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This to That (Glue Advice)

Check out this website I found at thistothat.com

Great site for when you need to stick one item to another and you do not know what to use.

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Etsy :: The Storque :: Spotlight :: Guest Curator: Fine Design with Swiss Miss

via etsy.com

What do you love? This print by hijirik http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5584012 says it so simply.
It is plain Black and White with a very simple statement. How many times do we get distracted by the things that we do not love and therefore we do not get to live for ourselves.

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Innovation lesson from childhood

My wife has taught four and five year olds for over 25 years now, and occasionally, I'm lucky enough to visit one of her classrooms and see her at work. When I do, I usually learn (or re-learn) something myself. During one visit, it struck me how smooth playtime was. You would think that a room full of five year olds would be a real beehive of activity; while the children were certainly displaying all of the energy and enthusiasm you would expect, they weren't flitting from one activity to the next. Since five year olds don't have the longest attention spans, I marveled, "How do you keep them so focused?"

"It's easy" she replied. "They know they're not allowed to start a new activity until they finish playing with the old one and put it away." Wow!

What a simple, but powerful lesson: Focus on one thing at a time and finish it before moving on to the next task. The children know they can't jump from working on a puzzle over to the sand table until they've finished, picked up all the pieces, put them back in the box and put it back on the shelf.

via innovationtools.com

Thank you to @presentationzen on Twitter for lending me to this article by Michael A. Dalton. I am so guilty of multitasking and do not even begin to think about it. What effect's does it have on my ability to perform my job? How do I control it? The things we learned in elementary school seem so far away and so simple but often are the most important things in life. I need to make a more conscious effort to stay on task and "put it away" as the article says.

I find myself trying to multitask as I writing this post. Do not look over at the email or twitter tab. They will wait and still be there when i get to it.

Note to self: Complete one task and put it away before beginning another.

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